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Poll: Treatment better than jail for drug abusers

About two-thirds of Americans say drug abusers need access to treatment to address their
addiction rather than criminal prosecution that could lead to jail time,

a Pew Research Center poll says. Among the 1,821 U.S. adults polled, 67 percent said they back
treatment

for drug users compared with 26 percent who said

the government should focus on prosecution.

Study verifies decline of smoking on prime-time TV

Prime-time television dramas are less smoking-friendly than they were in the 1950s, according to
a study published online in the journal
Tobacco Control. Researchers at the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of
Pennsylvania determined the drop in portrayals of smoking and tobacco use in prime-time dramas
mirrors the national decline in consumption. The study examined 1,838 hours of popular programs —
everything from
Gun-

smoke (in the 1950s) to
House (in the 2000s) — shown on television over

56 years. Research suggested that from 1955 to 2010, tobacco use on television declined from a
high of 4.96 instances per hour of programming in 1961 to 0.29 instances per hour in 2010.

Florida lawmakers give up on 2 Miami-area casinos

The Florida legislature gave up last week on efforts to open the state to casino gambling,
conceding that a deal “is not in the cards.”

A special committee on gambling failed to reach consensus on a bill intended to allow two hotel
and casino complexes in the Miami area.